Instagram hits one billion user mark and promises long video feature

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Instagram just unveiled a new way to help it compete with the likes of YouTube and Snapchat.

Upon launching the app, videos will begin playing automatically and, as you'll quickly notice, all of them are shot in portrait orientation, so you don't have to rotate your phone to watch them in full screen. This comes as Instagram's global community hits the one billion mark.

Instagram says that IGTV is rolling out over the next few weeks. However, brands are able to create their own channels just like any other person with an Instagram account. A recent Pew study found the number of teens who used Instagram was nearly as high as those who used YouTube (72 and 85 percent, respectively). In 2016, it added the ability to post slideshows that disappear in 24 hours, a copy of Snapchat's popular "stories" feature.

The initiative comes as parent company Facebook struggles to attract teens, while also dealing with a scandal that exposed its leaky controls for protecting users' personal information. But Instagram isn't yet doing one thing that YouTube started doing early on: cutting creators in on ad profits.

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That is what's already happening on YouTube, which has become the world's most popular video outlet since Google bought it for $1.76 billion almost 12 years ago. YouTube now boasts 1.8 billion users.

Shares of Facebook closed up 2.3 percent, at $202. The launch of IGTV not only paves the way for longer content, but it could also allow Instagram and its content partners make more money through advertising.

Initially, mobile and web users will have a 10-minute limit on their videos. Heading on the app right now reveals a pretty limited selection of videos, with the only person I know on there being MKBHD, but that'll probably change as time goes on. Similarly to TVs, as soon as you open IGTV, you'll be presented with a video.

Since then it has become a strong engineer of growth for Facebook in terms of users and ad revenues.

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The IGTV app will give users the ability to follow their favorite creators and use machine learning to predict which videos they'll want to watch next.

'It's like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, ' she said. You will be able to view the content using the Instagram app too, apparently. At a press demonstration Wednesday, Instagram executives showed video clips featuring wildlife explorers and amateur cooks.

But Systrom sees it differently.

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